Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

"That's not fair—!? Rivera, it's my turn next—!?"

"Okay, okay, wait a moment."

As a result, Tiona also insisted on having her hair combed, and Riveria had no choice but to smile with her eyebrows lowered.

Riveria was being teased by two capricious Amazons who were like cats, and the gentle swishing sound of a comb gliding through Tione's long hair rang out.

"Hey, Rivera."

"What's up?"

"Rivia knows Ais when she was a child... Ais when she first joined the Familia, right?"

Tiona sat in the chair, watching her sister have her hair combed, and slowly asked.

Riveria didn't look at her and simply replied, "Yes."

Ais joined the Familia nine years ago when she was seven years old.

Do you know "Arya"?

Rivera's hand, which was combing her hair, trembled and she stopped.

"Rivia...?"

Tiony turned her head suspiciously, and Riveria's emerald eyes looked at Tiona.

Where did you hear that name?

"Lefia said there's a 24th floor on the 18th floor, and someone calls Ais 'Arya'..."

Tiona honestly stared intently at Riveria.

Like Tiony, she gazed upon the royals whose beauty surpassed even that of the goddess.

"Some strange things have been happening lately, like new types of monsters. Bert and the others also told me about what they encountered on the 24th floor... I don't know much about it, but I know that something big must have happened."

First came the monster festival, and then the man-eating flower monster attacked.

In the town of Rivera on the 18th floor, a battle was triggered by the "Garissa Fetus" retrieved by second-tier adventurers from the major faction (Ganesha Familia). There, they encountered the strange woman Revis, a female tamer leading carnivorous plants.

Then on the 24th floor, she appears with the remnants of the Evils and confesses that their goal is to destroy the labyrinth city (Orario).

Tiona sat cross-legged on the chair, swaying her body as she recounted a series of events.

"Those dangerous people call Ais 'Aria'... It bothers me a lot. I'm wondering if Ais is related to the recent events."

"..."

"Arya is a character from Heroic Tales, but that shouldn't be related to this..."

Seeing that Tiona's voice was getting softer and softer, Riveria turned her gaze back to the front.

She remained silent, just as she had done to the effective girl (Ais) before, and touched Tione's hair to indicate that it was combed.

"Rivia, do you know anything?"

Even when Tione asked her this, Riveria remained silent.

She simply turned her face to one side, looking towards the window.

"...The 59th floor."

Finally, Rivera spoke.

"We should be able to learn something there."

Emerald eyes gaze at the vast sky outside the window.

◆

"Finn guessed right—"

On the avenue illuminated by the clear blue sky, a loose, scattered sound rang out.

As Rivera and the others talked in the mansion, many carriages and strong male demi-humans came and went on the road. Finn, a dwarf, looked up at the divine object beside him.

"What do you mean, Loki?"

Walking alongside him down the street was Loki, the goddess with red hair and red eyes.

She clasped her hands behind her head and looked down at her family.

"Didn't you go over the recent events with Grace and Riveria? Hey, you were just telling me half of what happened back then."

Six days ago, on the day Ais and the others were caught up in the 24th floor incident.

Back then, in the headquarters office, the three leaders of the faction spoke with Loki.

Regarding the strange woman Revis, whose true identity is still unknown and who has an inseparable relationship with the new type of monster associated with the "Colorful Magic Stone," Finn said the following:

"Capable of taming numerous monsters, yet lacking general knowledge... it's almost like..."

After saying this, Finn dismissed it as wishful thinking and glossed over what he had only said halfway through.

Only then did the chief god (Loki) bring up his earlier statement, pointing out to him, "You originally intended to continue like this, didn't you?"

—It's practically like a non-human monster that has settled underground.

Seeing Loki mimicking his manner of speaking, and guessing with uncanny accuracy—the eyes of the gods who intended to see into his heart—Finn shrugged his small shoulders.

"As a god, you must have foreseen this, right?"

Loki smiled when Finn turned the tables on him.

She seemed to find it amusing, and feigned ignorance, saying, "What do you think?"

"Remnants of the dark faction, plus inhuman and monstrous creatures, and the 'Precious Orb Fetus'... Things are getting really complicated. Finn, what do you think will be on the 59th floor?"

During the incident on the 24th floor, the eccentric Revis left a message for Ais.

She said: Go to the 59th floor, and you will know what you want to know.

The expedition grounds of the Loki Familia, and also the target location, is the 59th floor, which they have not yet reached.

Loki asked Finn what he thought awaited them on that floor.

"With my limited intelligence, I simply cannot imagine it."

As for Finn, he seemed to retaliate in kind, cleverly dodging the question posed by the Supreme God.

He refused to reveal his thoughts and licked his right thumb.

"However, the outline of the enemy has finally come to light."

Moreover, it wasn't a single line, but a huge black shadow formed by several lines overlapping in a disorderly manner.

It seemed as if many people's intentions were intertwined... Finn was filled with suspicion.

"That's true," Loki murmured. Finn glanced at her and felt a stinging itch in his thumb.

"Hey, Finn...can I share a casual thought?"

At that moment, Loki suddenly said this.

"What do you think?" Finn looked up, stopped, and turned around.

Then the deity seemed to remove his mask, the atmosphere suddenly changed dramatically, and he curled up the corners of his mouth.

"That's why I never get tired of the Netherworld."

"..."

"A hybrid creature of humans (children) and monsters (monsters)... What happened was beyond the imagination and prediction of us all-knowing gods. It was an 'unknown' that even the gods could not fathom."

As if intoxicated by fine wine, Loki opened his narrow eyes a crack, revealing a hint of joy.

The gods, who have lived through countless ages, thirstily seek the fragrance of the "unknown."

She said that even though this peaceful street corner, bathed in warm sunshine, could become the center of a storm at any moment, this sixth sense still strongly satisfied her excitement.

Zhu Fatian laughed heartily from the bottom of his heart.

Finn gazed at her silently, then returned a faint smile.

"Of course, I'm still most worried about Finn and you guys—my heart is about to break!? You guys have to come back alive—!?"

Then Loki's expression suddenly turned serious again, and he went behind Finn and started massaging his shoulders.

All eyes were on the noisy, rambling god, and Finn gave a wry smile.

"Don't worry, Loki, I'm an adventurer too."

He accepted God's joke and told her directly.

"I know very well what it feels like to challenge the 'unknown'."

Finn turned her head, looked up at Loki's face and smiled, then paused for a second before curling the corners of her lips into a smile.

A deep connection exists between a celestial being and his humble retinue, offering a glimpse into their long-standing friendship.

Soon, Finn and Loki continued on their way.

They walked along the northeastern main street, Orario's proud hub for manufacturing magic stone products, adjacent to the industrial district—from guild-employed free laborers to faction artisans, all gathered in this second district of the city.

Because of the thriving manufacturing industry, most of the pedestrians on the street were laborers in work clothes. Muscular middle-aged humans carried their own equipment to various places, while orcs walking alongside merchants looked at the orders they had received and shouted angrily. The sharp sound of metal cracking or the off-key shouts and songs of dwarves came from various buildings.

The main street presented a typical male-dominated factory atmosphere, with hardly any women or children in sight. The dwarf Finn and the goddess Loki stood out rather conspicuously as they continued walking from the main street towards the heart of the Second District.

Finn echoed Loki's tedious talk, and soon they arrived at a bungalow-like building—the workshop.

"—You've arrived."

A goddess with bright red hair stood in front of a unkempt workshop covered in coal dust.

Wearing a large eye patch covering the right half of her face, she turned her left eye, which was as red as her hair, toward Loki and Finn.

"Good morning, Feifei. Oh no, should I say good afternoon?"

Loki raised his hand and casually called the forging goddess (Hephaestus) by her nickname.

She is the current and permanent president of the world-renowned Hephaestus Familia, a faction specializing in forging, and also a chief deity.

Despite wearing a dignified black eye patch, she truly lives up to her goddess status, her beauty undiminished. Coupled with a white top paired with black pants and gloves, her simple, almost masculine attire perfectly embodies the image of a "beautiful woman," giving those meeting her for the first time the impression of a "boss lady."

Hephaestus raised her hand in response to Loki, tossing her red hair and giving her a wry smile.

"I'm so sorry, Loki, for making you come all this way."

"Don't worry about it, Feifei. We were the ones who asked you to come on the 'expedition' and prepare the weapons."

The Loki Familia requests assistance from the Hephaestus Familia regarding the "Expedition".

In order to reduce the wear and tear on weapons during the expedition, Captain Finn, through Loki, requested that Hephaestus's high smiths accompany them.

Hephaestus agreed to their request on the condition that they receive the weapon materials (dropped items) from the "Deep Layer." At Finn's request, the expeditionary alliance between the city's largest faction (Loki's Familia) and the forging faction (Hephaestus's Familia) was thus formed.

"Thank you for accepting our request, Goddess Hephaestus."

"Oh my, the renowned little hero actually thanked me; I'm truly honored. It's our pleasure to help you navigate the maze."

Hephaestus narrowed her eyes as she looked at Finn, who was bowing deeply.

Finn closed his eyes and said to her, who was displaying goddess-like majesty, "You flatter me."

"Is this the first time Finn and Fifi have met?"

"Well—I have had the honor of greeting the goddess a few times, but this should be the first time I have spoken directly with her."

"Anyway, we can talk about this later. Let's go inside first."

Hephaestus called out to Loki and Finn, then turned and walked toward the workshop behind her.

Led by her, the two entered the building from which the metallic clanging sound was coming from.

"I told her I wanted to discuss the 'Expedition' and repeatedly asked her to show her face... but she insisted that the game was going well and refused to leave the workshop."

"Haha! Just like Feifei~, a natural craftsman's nature. Children really do resemble their parents."

"It seems she hasn't changed at all."

Seeing Hephaestus sigh, Loki laughed out loud, and Finn also smiled.

Stepping through the door into the spacious forge workshop, a strong smell of iron immediately filled the air. The space was shrouded in darkness, with only a few magic stone lamps lit, the only decent source of light being the faint red glow of the furnace in the depths.

The clanging of metal, carried all the way outside, grew louder, a high-pitched, deafening sound. Finn and the others ventured deeper into the workshop and soon found her.

The figure was surrounded by incredibly large tools, intently hammering refined metal (ingots) on an anvil.